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CELEBRATION WEEKEND
EBOLA
QUICK NEWS

CELEBRATION WEEKEND

Ten days before our big 10-year anniversary celebration, our visitors - including our two speakers - canceled their trip to Mali. So we reduced the number of meetings and split the preaching between Paul and me. Our big anniversary was going to be a family celebration!

Though there was discouragement at first, our kids continued practicing their songs and skit they had written. Paul and I continued being busy with preparations, while we amended the radio announcements.

On Friday, we usually have our movie nights that are open to the public. On that special weekend we had a time of praise & worship, and then showed the MATTHEW Jesus film in the local language Bambara. After the movie I gave an invitation to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and many did.

On Saturday, we usually have our weekly service at 3 pm, so we kept that time slot. In the morning the rented tents had been set up, and so there was shade outside and plenty of room with the rented chairs. Paul and the kids were wearing the T-shirts we had made for the occasion, and they were leading everyone in praise and worship. Then Paul was preaching a great message challenging everyone. Together we prayed for many at the end of the meeting.

More pictures here.

Sunday was the big day of our main event. Our two sheep were killed and cut apart in the morning, and the ladies we had hired came to start preparing our banquet meal for the evening, so that our ladies who usually cook for us could participate in the meeting. We were all busy with last minute preparations, while two rented buses were on their way to our village churches to pick up our people from there to join us for the celebration.

The Christian radio station came late to set up for the live broadcast of the meeting, and Christian TV showed up as well. There will be a half-hour broadcast of our celebration on Malian national television in the near future, including interviews they did with both Paul and me.

This year we only baptized two people - two young men who are street kids and whose lives have been transformed. They gave beautiful testimonies.

About 300 people came to celebrate this special day with us, including teachers from our kids' school. Paul and our kids did a great time leading praise & worship, before I told the story of 10 years of Centre Apostlique Malien and God's faithfulness. Our young leader Joseph had been practicing two songs with our kids, though he chose not to sing his own song. He had also written a skit on Ebola that he and a few other kids were playing in the meeting. Some of our kids are great actors!

I was the one who preached the message; I had woken up with the message clearly on my mind that morning. Our theme was "Transformed by the Fire of God", and I spoke about Elija & the prophets of Baal as well as the fire coming down at the temple's dedication. Most people had never heard a woman preach before and were amazed. We've had some great feedback!

I preached the gospel clearly and gave an invitation in the end. Many chose to follow Jesus, and many came foward to be baptized with the Spirit and fire. Others came to receive healing prayer, and many reported to be healed. Praise God! He's alive!

More pictures here.

EBOLA

I've noticed that the media in America is reporting about Ebola in such a way that people are not well-informed and get scared. It's not West Africa that has an epidemic - it's the three countries Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. And it's not as easy to contract as some people think. These two maps will help you to put things into the right perspective.

A few weeks ago a sick, little girl traveled from neighboring Guinea to Mali and died. Since Ebola is not that easy to catch (bodily fluid needs to enter your body), amazingly nobody else got sick. We praised God for His protection!

A few days ago a new case became public, and this time it's more serious as no precautions were taken and people tried to cover it all up. Several people have become sick, and many are quarantined to prevent further spreading. Thankfully the authorities are now involved and doing all they can to stop this outbreak. Senegal and Nigeria both contained it and have been Ebola-free. We believe for the same for Mali! Please pray for us.

If you'd like to stay up to date with this situation, please follow me on Facebook.

QUICK NEWS

•        Millet & Corn Field - Our millet and corn will be harvested in a few days. We hope to have a big enough harvest so we don't have to buy any millet for a year.

•       Article - An article I wrote appeared in Patricia King's magazine ARISE at the beginning of the month. Read it here and please pass it on to your friends.

•        Guards - Our current day guard Adama has finally taken his driving exam. Once he has his license, he'll be our driver. Street kid Abdoulaye (pic) - who was just baptized - will be our new night guard, as our night guard Suma - who has just started first grade - will become our day guard.

•        New Truck Needed - We just repaired one of our trucks again, one of the several times per month, while the other one has been in the shop for the past week. We desperately need a new Toyota pick-up truck like in the picture, which unfortunately costs as much as $40,000 or 30.000€.

•       Volunteers - We always need volunteers in Mali who can stay a few months or more. If you'd like to come help us, please contact me.

But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides. (Mt 6:33, AMP)

Trusting HIM ,

Claudia